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Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental changes in East Africa: a review of multiproxy evidence from palynology, lake sediments, and associated records

Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, 227 Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-4105, USA; lkiage1{at}lsu.edu

Kam-biu Liu

Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, School of Coast and Environment, Louisiana State University, 1002-Y Energy, Coast and Environment Building, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA

This paper presents an overview of paleoenvironmental changes in East Africa during the late Quaternary based on evidence from pollen, diatoms, microscopic charcoal, and lake level records and associated proxies. The paleoenvironmental records derived from different proxies complement each other to provide a more accurate and complete assessment of the paleoenvironmental changes in East Africa. The records show that the period prior to c. 42,000 ¹⁴C yr BP was characterized by warm climatic conditions similar to the present. This was followed by a change to cold dry conditions from 42,000 to 30,000 ¹⁴C yr BP, and cold and moist conditions from 30,000 to 21,000 ¹⁴C yr BP. Temperatures during the latter period leading to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) were probably 2 to 4.1°C lower than the present. Between c. 21,000 and 12,500 ¹⁴C yr BP East Africa's environment was generally cool, punctuated by two significant episodes of prolonged desiccation. Warm and moist conditions punctuated by rapid climatic changes prevailed in the region during the deglacial and middle Holocene period. Ice core records document two significant and abrupt drought events in the region, one at 8300 ¹⁴C yr BP and the other at 5200 ¹⁴C yr BP. The onset of a longer and more extensive desiccation period commencing 4000 ¹⁴C yr BP was registered in nearly all sites. The climate of East Africa was generally drier than present during the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) while fairly wet conditions prevailed during the Little Ice Age (LIA) interrupted by three episodes of aridity, more severe than those of more recent times. Whereas this review advances our understanding of climate and vegetational changes in East Africa beyond the Last Glacial Maximum, it also highlights limitations of the paradigms that explain the forcing mechanisms behind the changes. However, unequivocal interpretation of the multiproxy data from East Africa with respect to paleoenvironmental changes becomes extremely complex and challenging especially when the anthropogenic input is considered.

Key Words: East Africa • multiproxy evidence • paleoenvironmental changes • paleovegetation • palynology

Progress in Physical Geography, Vol. 30, No. 5, 633-658 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0309133306071146


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